Wax applicator



March 17, 1959 s. KRASZEWSKI WAX APPLICATOR Filed March 5, 1958 A QENT INVENTOR SAMUEL KRASZEWSK/ l// Illll Uni v 2,877,476 Patented Mar. 17, 1959 WAX APPLICATOR Samuel Kraszewski, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada Application March 5, 1958, Serial No. 719,373 3 Claims. (Cl. 15-98) This invention relates to apparatus for the application of films to floor surfaces, and particularly relates to a wheeled applicator including a towed swab for applying and spreading a film of a wax emulsion.

Known means for applying liquid floor wax generally permit the liquid to flow freely onto the floor from a number of relatively small orifices in a chamber containing the liquid, a spreader swab surrounding the orifices serving to smooth the applied layer. For dealing with large areas such devices are cumbersome and uncertain of laying down a film free from streaks, light patches, and excessive deposits.

In the care of a floor surface having extended area, such as in a community centre, dance hall or the like building wherein a hardwood or other finished floor surface requires periodic cleaning and waxing, the maintenance cost both in direct labor charges due to time expended and cost of liquid wax applied is one of the largest single charges involved. It may readily be appreciated that the most efilcient rate of application would obtain wherein a band or strip of wet film of suitable width and Of uniform thickness is applied at a speed of advance corresponding to a brisk walk. Accordingly, a rapid rate of flow of the liquid upon the floor is indicated as necessary in order to supply the coverage intended, in terms of volume of emulsion applied per thousand square feet of floor. However, direct fiowage upon a floor surface of liquid wax is entirely unsatisfactory from the point of view of obtaining an even application, due to the characteristics of wax emulsions, the variable nature of the surface to which the emulsion is applied, and the dimculty of tracking on adjacent strip. A simple swab or pad when towed or dragged over such directly spilled liquid deposit does not achieve a satisfactory film of uniform thickness, particularly in the area overlapped between adiacent strips.

Applicant has made the discovery that, contrary to what would be eXpected from allowing liquid wax to stream freely under gravity and hydraulic head directly upon a floor, an even film of wax may be successfully laid down by pouring the liquid from a line of closely spaced small holes in a moving distributor pipe and bydragging over the liquid at swab to which is imparted both transverse horizontal movement of the trailing edge and a combined pivoting and rocking of the front or leading edge about its midpoint. By causing the swab to have a composite motion whereby the trailing edge is periodically swung or oscillated across the line of advance and the leading edge has its corners moved along circular orbits parallel with the direction of advance and subject to phase diiference, an effective smoothing of the liquid film may be realized. Such composite motion has been observed to be markedly superior when compared under identical conditions with direct towage ofa pad along the line of advance, particularly in minimizing ridging or streaking at the boundaries of adjacent strips or hands, while at the same time permitting of less precise tracking of the strip previously laid down. This advantage is especially significant where the area to be waxed is so large that sutficient time elapses between consecutive circuits about the room for the previous strip to have substantially dried.

A further significant advantage derives from the smoothing and spreading action which the pad effects upon a liquid deposit which may be of variable thickness transversely of the strip, particularly where one or more adjacent orifices may become blocked.

Essentially the invention consists in a construction o'fa wheeled applicator having a pair of wheels fixed to an axle journalling in a frame, the frame supporting a tank which a quantity of flowable liquid wax emulsion is carried, and an extended distributing pipe spaced above the fioor and below'the tank is provided with a number of relatively small holes spaced along its length on its underside for discharging streams of the emulsion from the tank by direct gravity flow upon the floor between and to the rear of the wheels; there being provided a suitable fiow-regulating device within the tank for admitting fluid to the orifices and control means therefor carried upon a towing handle fixed forwardly of the frame; a rearward extension of the frame supports eyes through which pitmans engaging cranks extending from the sides of the wheels pass, the cranks of the respective wheels being located degrees apart so that as the crank of one pitman is uppermost the .crank end of the other pitman is at'its lowest point; and a swab which is slightly wider than the irrigating duct is towed behind and has its forward corners attached to the ends of the pitmans.

By the practice of the invention a relatively simple light-weight and low cost applicator is realized without employing elaborate metering and distributing means or pumps, and which uses standard plumbing and constructional elements in its manufacture.

The features and purposes of-the invention may be the better perceived by study of the following description with reference to the accompanying figures of drawing showing preferred embodiments, and in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a complete portable applicator according to the invention, partly cut away;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation view of the apparatus of Fig. 1 in reduced scale showing the swab partly cut away and omitting the pitman joining bar;

Fig. 3 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. I particularly illustrating only liquid conveying lines and the valve;

Fig. 4 is a detail of a guide; and

Fig. 5 illustrates one form of a latch for manual control of the flow valve.

A wheeled portable applicator as illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a supporting frame 10 sustaining a liquid containing tank 11 carried upon brackets 12 and 13, above axle 14 journalling in the lower ends of the brackets. A pair of wheels 16 and 17 are secured fast upon the ends of the axle outwardly of the brackets. Suitably fixed to the forward side of the tray frame 10 is a towing bar 18 including a handle 19, and braces 20, 21, atfixed between sides of the bar and the forward corners of the tray frame.

A pair of guide eyes 22 and 23 are secured upon the ends of a system of struts 24 and 25 extending rearwardly of the frame, to locate the eyes at approximately axle height above the floor when the applicator is in its operative position. The eyes are spaced apart to lie behind and slightly outwardly of each of the wheels 16 and 17, by a rod 26, and the frame-work is further braced by rod struts 27 fixed between the rear corners of the tray and points intermediate the ends of rod 26. Crank arms 28 are fixed into the outer faces of the wheels, at positions which are 180 degrees apart relatively with respect to the axle. Pitmans 30 and 31 are pivotably secured upon the cranks by. their one ends and pass through the respective guide eyes, whose inner surfaces are preferably smoothed and coated with" a non-galling plastic film such as a linear synthetic polyamide as sold under the trade name of Nylon 66.

The ends of the pitmans are joined to the ends of a rough wiper bar 29 loosely as by cords or other flexible means. to allow the bar to drag on the floor and oscillate about a vertical axis located at its midlength, whereby to brush the freshly dripped material into a film. Suitable pad or brush means are affixedto the underside of the bar to facilitate spreading a film.

, A towed swab 33 is relatively closely coupled the corners of its forward edge with the ends of the pitmans, as by wire hooks 38. or other suitab e detachable attachment means, which afford a flexible linkage. The swab may be restrained from pronounced swinging without altering the corner-lifting action produced, by additionally joining it as by cords or wires 59 with the frame tray 10. The swab 33 preferably extends laterally a distance slightly greater than the distance bet een the eyes, and has a len th as measured in the directi n of advance of from one to one and a half times the width.

While a wide variety of substances may be employed with more or less satisfactory results, I refer to use a fairly thick swab of wool fibers in unfelted form, and the best results are believed to be obtained by em loying a sheep skin soft tanned with the fleece on. whe ein the len th of the fibers is at least one inch, the wool side being applied against the floor. Additional weighting layers as of canvas or rug material may be laminated upon the skin side as desired.

While the exact form of valve emp oyed for opening and shutting off the flow of the liquid may be varied widely. a relatively simple and effective arrangement for this purpose as described in Fig. 3 comprises a cone washer 32 fixed to the lower end of a spring-pressed shaft 34. seating on the end of a nipple 39. The assembly is retained in a frame generally designated 15, which comprises a single length of metal strip having its ends aligned in a common plane and shaped in stirrup form, apair of tabs 35, 36 being bent horizontally inwards to form a guide for the lower end of shaft 34 and the upper horizontal portion being pierced to allow the shaft to move vertically in the aperture. The assembly is engaged with the short threaded nipple 39 which passes vertically through an opening formed in the bottom of tank 11 in a well 40 formed therein, being retained by a pair of nuts 37 between which the stirrup and the tank are gripped. Suitable sealing means (not shown) is interposed between the nuts to prevent leakage. The

'. may be increased or their spacing 4 adequate thickness of liquid layer on the floor at the rate of advance intended to be maintained. For example, a series of holes each having a diameter of 0.065 inch spaced one inch apart may be found suitable at a walking speed of about 3 feet per second for a wax emulsion of a given viscosity. For thicker deposits and where the emulsions are less free-flowing the sizes of the orifices may be decreased, or both, to suit. To this end, sets of pipes 52 of different flow rates and having one end closed may be substituted, these being detachably connectible in the fitting 50 25 by force fit or friction.

. the cord 41 is held in a tube tank to rest pin The operation of the applicator is substantially troublefree and the full fiow is permitted while the apparatus 15 wheeled around the room, by latching the valve in its fully opened position. A suitable arrangement may take the form of a fitting 44 as in Fig. 5 wherein the endof 54 having a knob 55 at one end and a pin 45 extending through the tube, the latter being slidably received in apertures formed in lugs 56, 57. The cord 41 is adjusted to such length and is guided as by a metal or plastic grommet 43 in the top wall of the 45 between the lugs when the valve 15 is closed. The pin is pulled through the slotted aperture 46 and rotated to hold the valve in its latched-open position.

Due to the storage of liquid in pipes 52 and by virtue of the reservoir capacity of swab 33, the flow may be cut off several seconds prior to arriving at the end of a: round'or track. 1

Numerous modifications of construction and design variation may be practiced in carrying the invention into effect without departing from the basic teachings of the upper end of shaft 34 is threaded to receive a cap nut 42 within which an end of cord 41 is fastened. It will be readily understood that when cord 41 is pulled to overcome the force of spring 47, the cone body 32 will be raised from its seat within the end of the nipple to permit fluid to run out of thetank.

A pipe 48 disposed horizontally is connected with nipple 39 by elbow fitting 49 and passes through an aperture formed in a depending skirt 51 fixed to the rear of the tray frame. A pair of distributing pipes 52 have a plurality of drip holes 53 formed in a line along their bottoms, equal lengths of the pipe extending in opposite directions from a T fitting 50 joined to the end of pipe 48. The outer ends of the pipes have their ends suitably closed, as by plugs 58.

The sizes and spacing of holes 53 may be varied considerably, and it is to be understood that a total crossaectional area of orifices is provided such as will produce invention, whose scope is more specifically defined in the appended claims. I claim:

1. Floor treatment apparatus comprising a towable truck frame having a pair of floor-engaging wheels fixed on the ends of an axle journalling in the frame, a liquid retaining tank supported on said frame, a perforated spreader pipe secured transversely horizontally in the frame rearwardly of the axle, conduit means connecting said pipe with said tank, adjustable valve means in said tank for controlling discharge of liquid through said conduit and spreader upon the floor, a crank arm extending from each wheel, said cranks being angularly displaced substantially degrees from each other, a pitman having an end journalled on each crank and extending rearwardly therefrom, guide means in the frame for slidably supporting said pitmans adjacent their free ends above the floor, a rigid padded floor-engaging towable wiper having its ends loosely joined with the free end of said pitmans, and a pliable absorbent swab having a width not less than the spacing of said truck wheels connected with the frame and adapted to be towed behind said wiper.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the corners of said swab are joined with the free ends of said pitmans for alternate elevation thereby, and said swab has a length in the towing direction at least equal to its width.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said guide means include downwardly depending support legs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,547,223 Lombardo Apr. 3, 1951 

